Hungering Teeth.

XV.

AN: I am doing something a little different for this chapter. Agnus needs to get out the house anyways because I'm sick of having him in the same locations rgghh.

This may be a filler chapter, doesn't really correlate with the plot, but kind of?

There will be new characters. They're not really for the plot, just for fun.  (⁎˃ᴗ˂⁎)! Enjoyyyyy!

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May 25th, 1791

Agnus stumbled, the unfamiliar silk shoes slipping on the polished marble. A nearby countess gasped, stifling a laughter, her fan fluttering to conceal it.

He adjusted his cravat for the third time in as many minutes, as if it would shield him from the sneering faces. Dear reader, it would not.

"I say," a gentleman with a powdered wig sniffed, "wherever did you procure your ensemble?"

The words second hand shop died on his lips.

He straightened, forcing his shoulders back as he has seen his patron do. "It was a gift."

He scanned the crowd, searching desperately for the one visage that could offer salvation. Where was Nori? He received an invitation and was nowhere to be found.

The crowd parted like the Red Sea, as if Moses himself had brandished his staff.

There, stood a figure of such terrible beauty that several gentlemen clutched their heart, not a few ladies swooned. None other than Nori.

Agnus rolled his eyes, not as merely impressed by the dramatic entrance.

"There you are, Agnus. I see you've finally donned the outfit I've bestowed upon you. How kind of you."

"Yes," He drawled, tugging at his too tight cravat, for the fourth time now, "I'd thought I'd oblige your penchant for dressing humans like prized poodles."

As Agnus and Nori engaged in their verbal sparring, Clementine, interrupted.

"Clementine," Nori breathed, his usual composure slipping but for a moment. "You look lovely."

Indeed, the woman who glided towards them. Her skin as pale as snow.

Agnus arched an eyebrow.

"Well, tell me, did you also receive a sartorial makeover from our mutual friend here?" He gestured at Nori a flourish dripped with sarcasm.

She laughed, "Oh, Agnus, still so delightfully acerbic. No, this—" she twirled, "is entirely my own creation. One must dress for the life one leads, after all."

"Or the life, as it were." Nori added, his eyes never leaving her face.

"Quite," Agnus muttered. "Well, now that we're all here, perhaps someone would care to explain why I've been trussed up like a damn Christmas goose?"

"We're going to have fun tonight! Ah, Ezra! Come, meet my friend, Agnus. He's new to these parts, still finding his feet among such... refined company."

Ezra smiled warmly at Agnus. "A pleasure, truly. I confess, I had not seen you at any gathering before tonight, sir. Perhaps you are one of these rare souls who value quietude over revelry?"

He glanced awkwardly between Ezra and Nori, "Indeed, I... do find these affairs a touch overwhelming. But I am trying to, acclimate."

"Agnus has always preferred solitude, but I thought tonight might do him good. Don't you agree, Ezra? A bit of revelry can cure many ills."

"Perhaps so, yet there is a charm in those who keep their own counsel. Tell me, Agnus, do you enjoy poetry? I find it soothes the soul, especially when surrounded by such noise."